Well, sir, I think you have a lot of nerve to pass judgement on someone. From the article you can see this is a man who lives humbly, doing what he loves – playing the organ. How many people buy cars to reward themselves for a life of hard work? For 50k you could get, what, a nice sedan, or a Hummer H2, or something like that. For 50k you could move to something a little larger than a double-wide. But this guy decided to do something creative and enjoy what he has and what he loves doing. My opinion is weak and inconsequential? Well, at least it’s not rooted in arrogant self-righteousness.

Not that it’s relevant, but I never suggested where he might have gotten the money – I have no idea, and I don’t really care either. I know that he’s spent a lot of time playing the organ. I suppose you’d similarly indict a pianist for buying a Steinway or a violinist for a Stradivari, or any musician for buying a top-of-the-line sound system? And bringing Hitler into the argument (Godwin’s law) immediately strips you of any credibility you might have held. I never claimed to be non-judgemental, I was just shocked that such a rude comment would pop up here. No trace of arrogance? You opened your post by saying it was self-indulgence! The arrogance is in saying what someone you don’t even know or know anything about should be spending their money. The only person who has any business saying how Mark Noller should spend his money is Mark Noller. In one sentence you say I should be less self-righteous, in the next you – having never met or talked to me – state authoritatively that I have been corrupted by consumerism and tell me exactly what I need to do.

If you’re here to indict Western society, you’re in the wrong place. You asked if “a cinema could be saved” – well, why spend the money restoring a theater when there are homeless people? A black shoebox would do just as well, and old theaters certainly aren’t as economically efficient as a multiplex. Wasn’t that one of the reasons modernists hated ornamentation, that it was ostenatious and wasteful? Then again, communist societies- ones where any measure of material self-indulgence are rendered illegal – are such great places to live!

I won’t indulge you any further in this discussion. How’s the weather up there?